Bird Idol ~ Movie Review

I watched this movie in the theater last Sunday with Aparna (my SIL). Before, I never was very keen on watching animated movies but then Appu had vouched for its sarcasm saying that the movie was a dollop of fun if I could read between the lines in the script. So we went for a morning show to watch the much awaited movie: Bird Idol.

Synopsis:

The movie as a work of animation is good and the story line is quite patent right from the start. The crux of the movie is about a Kingdom of Birds – The fictitious Shayadri kingdom that is ruled by an old eagle. However, pertaining to the king bird's old age, the kingdom is being run by a cruel vulture, Dhamki. And so as the story progresses, we learn that one of the deadliest sins to be committed under the tyranny of Dhamki is cross breed love that is aptly rewarded with death at the claws of the hungry looking diabolic vultures on the Annual Birds Day. So here, let me introduce the protagonists of the movie, Pancham and Pari! Both despite being from different breeds fall madly in love with one another and decide to get married much to the chagrin of Pari’s father. And so the love birds with the help of a Gujarati humming bird Jayesh fly away to the city, away from the tyrannical kingdom and lead a low profile life. Seasons change, time flies and amidst the cacophony of the city, Pancham and Pari have an adorable son Hummy growing up to be one handsome fellow, turning heads of the female crowd wherever he goes! Specially being a cross breed, his looks are enticing as he is gifted with the looks of his father and his mother's crest.

As the movie proceeds, it illustrates Hummy’s interest in music, which is not the typical bird music of twee-twee, cuckoo-cuckoo and wee-wee, but music that is man made. So he and his three friends bring a revolution in the bird music industry by blending human and bird music, forming a group known as the Air Guitars. Change always brings in some unwanted perils! And this revolution invites resentment from the judges of the Bird idol show (one of them is shown impersonating Bappi Lahiri). As the movie unfolds further, the judges plan to unravel the mystery behind the hat, that Hummy wears to hide his crest. And the news reaches Shayadri kingdom, where Dhamki comes to know about the whereabouts of his long lost wayward subjects.

So in the typical bollywood fashion, the hero-villain saga starts! The movie however ends on a happy note with the old king eagle waking up to life after hearing the Air Guitars play their indigenous music and Dhamki succumbing to the consequence of his despotism which is actually the awakening of the subjects of the Shayadri kingdom to live freely in harmony. The Air Guitars set an example for creating a revolution in the mundane thought process of their society. The credits are set rolling as the bird kingdom welcomes the change with an open mind, in their society of repression.

Review:

This animation movie will be perceived in different ways by audience. For kids, being an animation movie, it is a candid script with a good mix of humor, romance and action. The grownups however may have found it a little mind-numbing movie as the regular bollywood content was portrayed using birds. Teen crowd may have declared it drab! But if one understands the depth of this movie's script, volumes of human psychology clouding our human society are delivered lucidly.

A few instances of our satire ridden society are as listed below:

• The inter breed love of Pari and Pancham renders the inter caste system of our very own society. Even to this date in most parts of our country, this concept itself is a taboo.
• The feelings of a young male and a female (Hummy and Surili) are portrayed candidly. The complexity of a female's emotions when it comes to the feelings towards the opposite sex and her simplicity in hiding those feelings is blended perfectly with the inborn ignorance of a male who fails to sense the sensitivity of the female he loves and confuses his feelings with friendship.
• The TV show hosting a series – ‘Balika Bird Who?’ viewed by Hummy’s mother Pari regularly, hints subtly at the dominance of television serials over Indian female crowd.
• The main showstopper for cynicism at its best is the Bird Idol show which actually exposes the reality shows of our Indian entertainment. The incompetence of judges who concentrate more on their position in the industry rather than genuinely picking up fresh talents, the non acceptance of a change/revolution in any industry for that matter the emphasis made on appearance rather than on talent is captured finely. The illustration of this concept is further enhanced with a comic touch where one of the judges was actually the bird version of Bappi Lahiri speaking in a Bong tone and loaded more with jewelery and less with talent.
• And last but not the least, the regular bollywood movie content is exemplified further with the baddies capturing the hero’s family and the hero and his troupe flying off to fight the villain – Dhamki.

To understand and feel the nuances of our one tracked mindset of our society, this movie is a must watch!